Laser noise compression by filamentation at 400 nm in argon

Filamentation is an efficient way to produce an intense and spectrally broad, but poorly stable, source for coherent control spectroscopy. We first described both theoretically and experimentally the filamentation and broadening of a 410 nm ultrashort laser pulse in Argon. By observing the theoretical and experimental spectral cross-correlation in the filament, we then show that the stability of the source can be improved. The Signal-to-Noise Ratio of the intensity inside the filament is increased up to 7 dB by its spectral filtering which provide a low noise broad spectrum source.